Cemetery records and family history

What information can I find through cemetery records?

Cemetery records allow researchers to trace ancestors to a particular area and time and may provide links to other members of the family buried in the same cemetery.

Published cemetery records vary with the amount of information supplied. They may contain:

name of deceased

age of person at time of death

date of death and/or burial

transcription of monumental inscription on the grave

portion, plot and grave number within the cemetery

names of others buried in the same grave.

What cemetery records can I find at the State Library of Queensland?

SLQ holds a large number of published indexes for Australia and New Zealand. Check the One Search online catalogue for our holdings.

We also hold lists of cemetery records available in microform, print, CD-ROM and on the internet. One list covers Queensland and the other interstate. Ask at the Desk in the Micrographics area on Level 3.

This CD-ROM contains over 2.5 million names indexed from the collections of the Society of Australian Genealogists as well as other family history societies and libraries [in Australia and New Zealand], and includes 605,000 death and burial references. Data on this CD is new and does not replace data already published on AGCI Vols 1 and 2.

This published series has a wide coverage of Queensland cemeteries. The State Library's catalogue indicates which cemeteries have been included in this series. The books are shelved in the reading room on Level 3.

This index is spread over four series of microfilm. Each series is arranged alphabetically by surname and contains a large compilation of various cemeteries from around Queensland. These microfilm series are shelved in the Micrographics area on Level 3.

Western Australia

The index contains large number of cemeteries in town and country areas. A guide lists the cemeteries covered in the microfiche. The guide to the microfiche is held at the Desk in the Micrographics area.

New Zealand

This series covers a large number of cemetery records from around New Zealand. It is important to consult the guide to the series as it lists the names of the cemeteries and where to locate the information on the microfiche. Ask for the guide (MFA 929.393 1993) at the Desk in the Micrographics area on level 3.

Other tips

If you are unsure where your ancestor died, try looking at electoral rolls just prior to his/her death. This should provide you with an address making it easier to establish the cemetery in which s/he may have been buried.

Newspapers are another useful source. Funeral notices will often state the final resting place of the recently deceased.Funeral director records may also provide you with a burial place.

Remember not all of our ancestors are interred in public cemeteries. In some cases, family members buried their dead on their rural properties. Some churchyards also contain small cemeteries.